The historical photograph collection of the New Westminster Public Library is a dynamic resource of over 3300 black and white photographs. Aspects of life in the Royal City are chronicled back to 1858 under a wide variety of topics including: buildings, houses, streets, portraits, social life and customs, views from the Fraser River, and the waterfront.

For updated
information on New Westminster and other British Columbian photographers,
please consult David Mattison's excellent web site,Camera
Workers: 1858-1950.

If you
cannot locate what you are looking for use site:cameraworkers.davidmattison.com
in a google search to run a general keyword search of the entire website.

USE OF THE COLLECTION

The photograph
collection serves a wide audience. It is a rich academic resource for
students, writers, researchers, historians and educators. Our photographs
have been used in motion pictures, television shows, print advertisements,
commercial calendars, works of art and many other creative endeavours.
Any use of our photographs whether in electronic or print format should
always include a proper credit (e.g. Photograph courtesy of the New
Westminster Public Library). The credit should also include the photographer’s
name and the Library's accession number for the photo (e.g.
NWPF photo no. 1865).

ACCESS TO THE COLLECTION

Heritage Web Site
The photographs, for which we own copyright, are on the Library’s
Heritage Web Site. The search tool for the photo database allows you
to search by subject. Click off the images box for thumbnail images.
Click on thumbnails for larger images. Images are scanned at a high
resolution and may be captured from the Web Site. All these digitized
on-line photographs may be freely copied with the proviso that proper
credit is given to the New Westminster Public Library. Photographs for
which we do not own copyright are not online but may be looked at in
the Library. For prints of these, the originating institutions should be contacted. This option respects copyright and ensures that the best possible copy is obtained.

In-House
Although the majority of our photographs are available online, to access
the entire Historical Photograph Collection users must come into the
Library. The in-house search tool is a card catalogue system that is
searchable by accession number, subject, date (chronological), personal
name, and photographer.

Copyright Issues

Copyrighted materials from such sources as the Vancouver City Archives,
Vancouver Public Library, Notman Photographic Archives and the British
Columbia Provincial Archives may be looked at in the Library but not
copied. The original source must be contacted for reproduction or permission
to use the image. The name and accession number of the original source
is on the back of the photograph and should be noted for future reference.

OBTAINING
COPIES OF NEW WESTMINSTER PUBLIC LIBRARY’S HISTORICAL
PHOTOGRAPHS

The Library
can arrange to have a photograph scanned where no copyright restrictions
exist. Have the librarian check the photograph's source for verification
of whether or not it can be scanned. Please check with the librarian
regarding current cost for image scanning. Additional payment is required
for services such as mailing and postage charges for out-of-town orders.
Permission fees are waived. The prices are subject to change.

To order
scans of the photographs, please complete scanning
order form and mail it with an attached cheque to: